UN says Myanmar still has serious rights challenges

(August 06, 2012) A United Nations human rights expert called Saturday for an urgent independent investigation into recent bloody sectarian violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state, which he said was one of many human rights challenges facing the country. Tomas Ojea Quintana ended a weeklong visit to Myanmar saying that the country's much-touted democratic reforms will not take hold unless the government places human rights at the center of its agenda for change. During a two-day tour of Rakhine state, Quintana said he witnessed ``widespread suffering'' from the June violence between Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya that left at least 78 dead and tens of thousands homeless. He said he recorded allegations of ``serious human rights violations'' by police and security forces including killings, torture, arbitrary arrest and excessive use of force. New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused government forces of opening fire on crowds of ethnic Rohingya and committing other ``atrocities'' during attempts to restore order. Tensions between the Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya are longstanding, in part because many in Myanmar consider the Rohingya to be illegal settlers from neighboring Bangladesh. The United Nations says there are about 800,000 Rohingya in Myanmar and considers them to be among the most persecuted people in the world. Quintana is to present his findings to the upcoming U.N. General Assembly.